This one's not picked up many plaudits since it was released in the early
70s, which is a shame, really. I enjoyed it so much that I'm surprised
no-one else liked it . sincerely.
And it's not even a "so bad it's good" kind of film - it's just,
well - different. Of course, some bits don't stand up to close scrutiny
- there are so many red herrings it's untrue, and the "werewolf"
is a big dog wrapped in a fur coat. But the film itself is great.
Allow me to explain.
The opening is great, with its 70s style funky music, and it immediately
goes straight into a frantic chase, with Calvin Lockhart's Shaft-like
funky black man being chased by troops through the English countryside.
Of course, it turns out that the "victim" is actually a multi-millionaire
big game hunter, who gets his jollies being chased around his estate (like
you do).
The idea is to test out his state of the art burglar alarm system, but
in the end it's all been a waste of time, because the system's crap. Anyway,
he's also invited a bunch of people to stay in his home because "one
of them is a werewolf" (how he's worked this out is anyone's guess
- it's never explained in the film).
Of course, he does what any self respecting host would do when a group
of people are staying for the weekend - he scares the shit out of them
by pretending to be shot dead. The wacky guy.
He then tells 'em what he's decided to do, adds that none of them are
allowed to leave (which goes down well), and then starts flapping when
they begin to get killed one by one.
The aforementioned red herrings come thick and fast, with all the subtlety
of a sledgehammer. All of the guests have had people die horribly near
them in the recent past, and most of them have got hair where they shouldn't
- backs of hands etc (what did you think I meant?)
As the suspects get whittled down one-by-one, Agatha Christie-style, our
hero gets more and more stressed. Finally you have the piece de resistance,
a 30 second "Werewolf Break" which gives you, the viewer, the
chance to decide for yourself who's the guilty party.
Don't take any notice of what you might read about this film - it's ace.
And it's got Peter Cushing in it.